


Blind Future

by magnaka



Series: Blind Future [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-24
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-05 22:56:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4198185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnaka/pseuds/magnaka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Arthur hit Merlin. Consequences are far-reaching. </p><p>Second of my BF-series. Can be read alone.</p><p>Beta Felicity P</p><p> </p><p>original story can be found Fanfiction.net, Blind Future, TheMagnaka</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hit and fell

Servants hurried past, trying not to show their growing interest, but at the same time they tried desperately to slow down their pace in order to hear the two men arguing in the corridor.

Fighting between those two was normal. It was an everyday occurrence in which all the servants, knights, as well as many of the castles other inhabitants knew. It was Prince Arthur and his manservant Merlin.

In over a year the people of Camelot have learned how the relationship between those two really works. At first it looked like they would kill one another, but slowly everything changed. Now people around the castle and town learned that even if Prince Arthur was sometimes so high and mighty and bossed around his servant and the knights, he was also good at listening to normal people and responding. Many of them felt that they had Merlin to thank for that.

Merlin was clumsy, but he was smart and he always treated people around him as equals. Like Prince Arthur. Other servants would compare the two men and say they were like the sun and moon, or two sides of the same coin. They were always arguing and bickering, always together, always looking for each other, always in trouble. They were in many ways friends.

Bickering between them was nothing new, and it was almost always over something stupid what Merlin had done. Sometimes it was hilarious, and Merlin always laughed afterwards in the kitchens, the laundry, or marketplace.

This was different though, this time Arthur looked like he was really angry. He didn't seem to care if anyone heard him. The Prince was chasing after Merlin until he finally stopped the younger man. Merlin tried to avoid his gaze, looking both sad and wary at the same time.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Arthur spat.

"I didn't want you to choose between me and your father. Your loyalty belongs to him, not to me." Merlin hissed quietly.

He didn't want everyone to overhear them. They were already drawing to much attention as it was, and he really didn't want to rouse the other peoples suspicions anymore than they already had.

"My loyalty belongs to my people, to my kingdom, and to you! You should have told me!" Arthur yelled.

Merlin flinched. "Yes, someday when you are the king. Sire."

"You and your fucking sire."

He hit.

Before Arthur could even register his own actions his arm was pulled back and he was throwing all his fury. He didn't mean it, not really. He had just felt so angry, so frustrated, and utterly betrayed that all the emotions just erupted out of him. Merlin, his servant, his most loyal friend who was so close to him, had lied.

No, not lied--kept it a secret, kept such an essential fact from him. What made it worse was when he realized that Merlin didn't trust him enough. He said that it was because of his father and his beliefs, but he wasn't his father. Weren't they friends?

Merlin didn't have time to react. The blow hit him directly in the nose, and he teetered backwards. He felt blood run down onto his lips, his ears ringing, and when he stepped back he didn't feel the floor beneath his feet.

Merlin was still dazed when he looked toward Arthur who was yelling his name, hand outstretched towards him as he tipped back. Then he was falling, and in seconds he was hitting the edge of the floor, pain erupting in his back before the ground unexpectedly disappeared again. In a moment of terrifying clarity he remembered they were next to the stairs, and then all he knew was intense pain as he struck step after step.

He tumbled continuously before agony burst through his skull as it struck the last stair. Then he stopped moving, his body coming to a rest at the bottom. He could barely hear Arthur's voice. It was distant, and Merlin couldn't see anything. He tried to move, but there was an immense pain in his back. He tried to speak, but there were no words that he could utter. Merlin could taste blood in his mouth, and now the pain was growing in intensity every second. It was then that he gave up his hold on consciousness and drifted away.


	2. Don't touch me!

“"Merlin!"

Arthur reached out his hand as he sought to grasp hold of his servant, but his fingertips only had time to lightly touch Merlin's arm before Merlin proceeded to fall. Arthur was only able to watch as Merlin hit the stairs again and again, his eyes wide open. Finally Merlin came to a stop. He didn't move.

"Merlin!" His own voice echoed in his head. Before he even noticed that he was moving, he was running down the stairs. Arthur almost tripped over his own legs as he rushed over to Merlin and took his servant's face tenderly between his palms. He didn't dare move the boy.

"Merlin, Merlin? Oh god, please! Merlin? Can you hear me?" Merlin opened his mouth to speak, but there was only blood. His eyes wandered over Arthur's face, but the eyes were vacant. Arthur looked terrified when the light in those blues irises began to melt away slowly.

"Merlin? Nonononono! Please! Please, stay awake! Help! Somebody help me! Help! Get Gaius!" Arthur yelled desperately, his voice full of panic. He looked up to see servants running his way, and breathed a sigh of relief. He looked down at Merlin again and began trying to feel for a heartbeat.

"Merlin!" Came the baffled interrogative voice of Gaius.

"Gaius? Gaius! I think--I can't…I mean his pulse…I can't…" Arthur stammered, clearly distressed. Gaius steeled himself, praying as he lowered his hands to grasp Merlin's wrist, his head bowed as he lowered an ear to the boy's chest. Moments later he shut his eyes and gave a satisfied huff.

"He's alive. There's a heartbeat, but it's weak."

Arthur shut his eyes in relief. Merlin was alive, there was still hope. Arthur watched as Gaius worked, cleaning Merlin's mouth, wiping away the blood. The Physician verified the boys breathing, and also checked over his torso.

"What happened?" The older man asked, still working. Arthur stared him and then looked away. "Sire, what happened?" Gaius insisted.

"I…I…hit him."

...

"What?" Gaius gasped, eyeing him in shock.

"I HIT HIM, ALRIGHT! I hit him right in the nose. I…I didn't realize that there were stairs. I tried to catch him. I tried, but…but he fell. He hit the floor, and then he continued to fall. I…I couldn't…" Arthur looked down at his trembling hands. "I did this" he hissed clearly distraught. "This is my fault."

"It was an accident Sire. Arthur, listen to me." Gaius took the Prince's hands in his own and forced the young man to look him. "You were angry so you hit him, but what happened next--that wasn't your fault. It was an accident Arthur, an accident."

Arthur didn't seem to want to listen. "My fault." He repeated. Gaius shook his head.

"I don't have time to deal with this. Morgana, my lady? Can you please take care of him? He's in shock, so keep him warm and don't leave him alone. I'll come by later."

"Yes Gaius, I'll take care of him." Arthur looked up at Morgana confused. When had she gotten there?

"Keep him away from my chambers until I give him permission to come." Gaius instructed.

"Of course" She nodded in understanding. Morgana lowered her hand gently onto Arthur's shoulder. "Come on Arthur." Arthur stood up, and watched as the servants hoisted Merlin up and carefully proceeded to leave--Gaius following alongside them.

"Arthur?" Morgana murmured softly, reaching out.

"Don't touch me!" Arthur spat. Morgana didn't say anything, she just watched as the young man shivered. Arthur stared at his hands. Blood, Merlin's blood was on his hands.

"Arthur please follow me, we'll go to your chambers. Please Arthur, Merlin will be alright. Come, let's go get you cleaned up."

And like a lost child Arthur followed Morgana.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you from reviews and kudos everyone!


	3. Something is wrong

Gwen was in the room helping Gaius as he worked hard on Merlin.

"Is he going to be okay?" Gwen asked anxiously.

"He's alive, I can't say more until he wakes up." Gaius answered seriously.

"When…when is he going to awaken?"

Gaius eyed the young girl solemnly "Today, tomorrow, never. " Unspoken words hung heavily in the air. The older physician swallowed thickly before continuing "He hit his head. Hard. There's a light fracture in the skull."

"A break?" Gwen gasped. 

Gaius nodded with a long sigh. "Yes, along with his nose also--thanks to Arthur. Luckily he hasn't broken anything else."

"What about the blood. There was so much blood." She asked hesitantly.

"The blood came from his nose so there is nothing to worry about. There is a large bruise on his back, and it doesn't look good. When someone takes a fall like that…" Gaius stopped abruptly, shaking his head sadly at the negative thoughts filling his mind. They both fell silent, as it was too early to say anything anyway. Gaius quietly washed away the last drops of blood on Merlin's face and hair. "Gwen." He spoke softly. Gwen looked up at Gaius expectantly.

"Yes?"

"Please go and check on Arthur."

"I… " Gwen shook her head.

"Go." He instructed firmly. "He needs you my dear. You can't do anything in here. I have to wait and see if Merlin wakes up, but Arthur needs someone that can tell him that everything will be okay. He's in shock."

"But…I…I don't know if I can. Arthur…"

"This is not his fault Gwen." Gaius interrupted gently. "The servants say that there was an argument and that yes Arthur hit Merlin, but it was just an accident. I think you know that too. Arthur would never do something like this even in anger. And Merlin is his dearest friend. Go Gwen, please. He blames himself." Gwen nodded in understanding before turning to leave. When the door closed Gaius sighed. "Good. Now, Merlin my boy, wake up please. I have to know that you are okay."

Sometimes, really sometimes Gaius thought that maybe he should lock Merlin up somewhere to keep him safe. He loved Merlin like his own son, and he was so proud that Merlin and Arthur were friends now. But honestly, how on earth could that boy be so clumsy all the time, how could that same clumsy boy have saved them all so many times. Merlin had learned so much in the short time since he'd been there, and Gaius had noticed the seriousness that was filling the boy little by little since he had accepted his destiny. He couldn't help but wonder what had happened between those two boys.

The last couple of days had been so busy that he hadn't seen Merlin more than a couple of times. He knew that Arthur and Merlin had been on a hunting trip the day before, and returned early this morning. Something must have happened that had upset Arthur. But what?

Gaius sat down in his chair and picked up a quill. He starred at the empty paper in front of him. He had to write to Merlin's mother, Hunith and tell her what had happened to her son, but what should he say? It was so quiet, and he felt so empty. He remembered the time when Merlin got himself poisoned. But even then, Merlin was there, speaking to him. He remembered all the times when he was so sure that he had lost Merlin. Now, it was an even heavier feeling than ever before. The kind of feeling that made him think that something was really wrong this time.

"Gaius?" Small voice escaped from Merlin's lips. Instantly, the chair Gaius was sitting on went flying back in the old man's rush to get up.

"Yes my boy? Don't try to move yet. Do you remember what happened?"

"Arthur?" Merlin answered, but it was barely a whisper.

"He's fine--well, almost. He's in a bit of shock." Gaius informed.

"He…he hit… me."

...

"And you fell down the stairs."

"Oh..."

Gaius smiled gently and touched Merlin's arm. "How you feel Merlin?"

"Feel? Like… crap. My nose… hurts. My… back… hurts. My head…. And…" abruptly Merlin became quiet.

"What Merlin? Tell me boy, what's the matter?" Gaius insisted, his voice tense. "My leg… my right leg, I…I can't feel it. I can't move it. What…"

"Your arms?"

"My arms? My right arm…my fingers…"

"Partial paralyses" Gaius murmured horrified. God he felt so helpless. He had feared this. That bruise on his back, he had seen this before.

"Gaius…there is something else..." Gaius didn't want to look at Merlin. He didn't want to hear that fear conformed also, because he had noticed that symptom too. He didn't feel like he was ready to hear that information from Merlin. And why, oh why, was his voice so calm?

"I can't see."


End file.
